Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Monday, May 30, 2011

i want to be the forest you escape to
i want to provide cakes and woollens
you are compelling
i will remember your outfits

Brushing my teeth I noticed a tile that was replaced in our shower when I moved in & thought about all the effing tiles in the world. They may rot & be replaced, people will see to it.

my jeans were so baggy
my bike was stolen
my leg had a long gash

now a bruise on that leg
imagining all kinds of heart metaphors
where we were skinless
and our muscles stringy & tough
they had all the life of us
and tendrils wound together

There are spires all across the city skyline. There are walls with various uplifting graffiti messages, though the only one I can remember is "vigil". There are trees that have grown apart because of power lines.

i found this video posted somewhere and it made me feel a lot of things. i googled them to try to find some of their music to download but it was hard because it kept coming up with actual "seagulls". i ended up buying this album for $20 from itunes. i have never bought anything from itunes before and i thought about how maybe that was weird. i forgot i saw this band when they played at camp a low hum and i only remember because i have a picture of it. in the picture there is a nice couple who we had talked to that morning at breakfast. anyway, real nice album. makes me feel like i'm alone in the mountains or something. real peaceful.

i really like doctor who. the theme makes me feel nice. the theme song and visuals change slightly with each new doctor. i found these on my dad's external hard drive. doctor who gets me excited like a lil puppy wagging it's tail.

the zombies - best of

idk, i just thought it was weird that i didn't have any zombies. felt like i experienced a moment of realisation about this which prompted me to open my macbook and type "the zombies mediafire" ravenously into my google search bar.

eamonn said i should listen to this so i listened to it and i liked it. shit, i have no anecdotes about this one.

24 hour party people soundtrack

i re-watched 24 hour party people again and forgot how much i liked it so i downloaded this soundtrack. played it on repeat for like two days. i remember me and my flatmate dancing in our living room to 'she's lost control'. wondered if i should get into new order.

new order - best of

follows on from above. downloaded this from mediafire or something. turned out all the files were in .wma format. what the fuck. why is that still a thing.

led zeppelin II and IV

stairway to heaven is the only thing i know how to play on the guitar. fuckin' rock dat shit.

some country compilation

felt a distinct lack of jimmy buffet in my itunes.

casiotone for the painfully alone - etiquette

was recommended to me as good sad music. i like sad music. it makes me feel a specific way that is something like wanting to go swimming in the ocean.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Susie and I contribute to a new blog called antipobros, a blog collective featuring poets who live throughout Australasia.

To put this into some sort of context, the contributors are all apart of the same worldwide poetry community. It's sort of hard to say how it all came about, but it may be fair to say that Steve Roggenbuck brought us together by generally just being a nice bro. Maybe we met through All Write Then, or Let People Poems, or Pop Serial. Or because we liked each other's work and became friends that way.

This community of people are, for the most part, writers and poets. I keep using the word "community" because that's what it feels like. We support each other in our writing and in our "real lives". We relate to each other in many ways. We keep each other company.

Sometimes there are ustreams, in which people get together irl and read out poetry they like in front of a webcam and everyone can watch it and chat together whilst doing so. It is nice and sometimes there is dancing. It brings people together.

mastabate poemmelbourne girls wankpoems about people who wankshould you appreciate the pepole who care abou tyouwhere do most girls masturbatewhich girls masturbate most oftenwhy don't most girls masturbate?why we feel heaviness in our bodyhow often do girls masturbate"transpersonal solipsism"snide universitybusy sexcracking nuts masturbationdo most girls masturbatedo most girls masturbate by 14do most girls wankflat mate masturbates in living roomgirls masturate storiesgirls masturbastegirls masturbegirls masturbetehow often did the brachiosaurus have sex?how often do girls mastubateis it true people are just peoplehow often do girls masturbationjim carrey terrible friendlady gaga always cryletters written by girls who like to masturbate

Monday, May 23, 2011

I live in a suburb of Melbourne called Abbotsford. This is a suburb quite near Fitzroy and Collingwood and Richmond and Clifton Hill. It is 2km from the city centre. You can walk to and from the city with ease, but it would take you a long time. I try to ride my bike into the city as much as possible, but now it is getting colder and often it is wet I don't do it as regularly as I should.

I live right next to this old football oval called Victoria Park. This is also the name of my train station. The oval used to be the official training ground for the AFL team Collingwood and some of the buildings are black & white. A lot of people don't like that team and they make jokes about it but my mum goes for them and she told me that when she first moved to Australia my dad took her on a date to Victoria Park. I am pretty sentimental about things now so I tell that story a lot.

This suburb is made up of houses, mostly old terraces houses or warehouses. Some of the warehouses are still in use, but others have been converted into really fancy apartments. Gotta love gentrification. This is a building at the end of my street.

My house has become really good for parties. Somebody once said they like parties at my house because "something always happens". This is pretty true. Here are some pictures of parties at my house.

I do not know these people. I stole this picture from some girl's facebook.

My house is an old terrace house in a row of houses. The name of the terrace is Winifred. This name is good for a number of reasons1. Winifred is a cool name because you can shorten it to Winnie2. Winnie is the name of Stacey's cat3. Winifred is the name of my friend Erin's grandma who was a really awesome lady

Because it is an old house it gets pretty cold, but luckily I am a warm person and I can warm up at nights pretty fast. It also has a small kitchen with not very much bench or cupboard space which is difficult at the moment because we have a new housemate and she has a lot of awesome kitchen stuff. I say awesome because it seems like it relates to baking.

My housemates are Steve and Ashley. Ashley is the one who just moved in. Yesterday we went to a Ghostpatrol exhibition together and then picked up my bike from the library and rode back home. I think it will be good to live with her. Steve is pretty chill. He likes photography and I just helped him arrange all these canvasses in our lounge room. They are pretty. He eats a lot but also goes to the gym like every day and rides his bike to work.

We have a little courtyard out the back of our house. It is useful for parties. Ashley says she has a bunch of plants to put out the back.

I love living here because the house vibe is really chill. We kinda do our separate things but we are friendly, clean and respectful of each other.

Another awesome thing about my place is that it's close to Collingwood and Fitzroy which are really fun places to go out. A little further down the road is this cool place to eat called Lentil As Anything which is a vegetarian buffet/food coop where you pay what you feel the food is worth. The food is delicious so if you live in Melbourne and if you haven't been there before you better go and support them.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

on my (chilly) ride to work this morning i rode up a street with leaves falling everywhere. a breeze arose and they chased each other to the gutter. one landed on my shoulder; i brushed it off as i waited to cross gertrude street.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

I saw a poster for this album at Clifton Hill train station and knew I had to have it. Am presently listening to it, feels real good man. Not too much like their debut album. Pleasantly suits current (freezing) weather. Want to be in a log cabin with Robin Pecknold right about now.

the Black Keys discography

When I was 16 I really liked this band, but since then I haven't really listened to them. It turns out they release like 5 albums per year and have a giant back catalogue, so I figured getting their discography would be the best way to take care of that shit. Also they were live on one of the SNL episodes I downloaded recently.

SNL s36e11 - Jim Carrey

Lots of my friends are anti-SNL for some reason. I guess a lot of the sketches are 'too American', but sometimes they get that shit totally right. And Kirsten Wiig... amirite? Jim Carrey wasn't a terrible host, but he's so demanding and attention grabbing. I also felt like I'd seen half of the material he used before in the extra features of Bruce Almighty.

SNL s34e22 - Will Ferrel

Will Ferrel spent the bulk of this episode in song. This was a pretty good episode just because of the guest stars. I think this must be a thing they do for the end of every season. Tom Hanks is in this one! And Anne Hathaway playing a guitar for some reason? It's pretty good just for the weird cameos. Also I love Tom Hanks. Need to get more of that guy in my life.

30 Rock s05e22

I didn't realise that this is the final episode of the season. Was kinda a let down. After watching the whole of season five, I'm pretty on board with the general feedback I've heard going round: just not up to usual standard.

30 Rock s05e20+21

Double episode. Fuck, I hate Lemon's crappy ex-boyfriend. I guess there were some good moments in this ep. Three Jacks were pretty funny, especially the bit where the young one goes "we're all going to have sex later, right?" and they all agree. Oh those guys. If I was Jack Donaghy I would want to have sex with myself. Fortunately, as a woman, I can want that anyway. What?

The Big Chill

I was looking for old movies of relative decency a couple of weekends ago (which the rest of the list will reflect) and this one came up. The cast is pretty good, Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum and Glenn Close to name but a few. It's about a bunch of old friends who reunite after another one of them commits suicide for no apparent reason. I guess I've been thinking a lot lately about what it will be like when me and my friends are at that stage of our lives (well hopefully nobody commits suicide). Apparently somehow you just end up there, with kids and houses and junk. It's worth noting that Jeff Goldblum is not the (weirdly) sexy bro that he is in Jurassic Park, he seems creepy and overly tanned. Sup with that?

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Hugh Grant, just so charmingly befuddled! Dunno, didn't think that Andie McDowell was really right for him. How was she such a 90s babe? This movie was pretty funny. Really vibed the humour. The passing of time wasn't very well handled though.. or something. But yeah, this is funny, even if you hate Hugh Grant with a passion. Particularly liked the way he and his roommate were always late to everything. Just seemed authentic, like you're in this 'serious' stage of your life, but you never really stop being a teenager/kid/young person, even though everybody is getting married around you.

Office Space

OMG this movie is so fucking legit. Can't believe it took me so long to watch it. Now I finally know what this Family Guy parody is of. Anyone else think that the guy who plays Michael Bolton looks a bit like Stacey's ex boyfriend Sam?? (though I think the actor is more nerdy/jowlsy)

Gossip Girl s04e18

Aw poor Dan. Amirite? Can I just say that Nate is a terrible friend? Is he still a stoner? Like, I really want to party with/do him, but seriously, as if you go and date your ROOMMATES VERY RECENT (read: the same week) EX!!!! Clearly smoking too much weed. I don't like the introduction of this cousin character, but I think it's safe to say that Dan won't be sad/single for long.

Try Seventeen (Australian title "All I Want")

This is a movie starring Elijah Wood and Mandy Moore from like 2005. I can't exactly remember what it is about but I remember that I watched it like three times when I hired it out from the dvd store. I have a feeling it was pensive, life affirming and uplifting because on the movie poster Elijah is riding a motorbike. You can't not be a thinker with blue eyes like Elijah's. Anyway I'm curious to see whether it 'resonates' with me as much five years later.

Monday, May 9, 2011

you start off as a geometrical pointand begin to expand in all directions

you have a beginning and an end

you are my ears ringing at night when i am trying to sleepyou are the tree that i just stopped in front of and said "i really like that tree"you are the colour maroon and also the colour navyyou have two different socks on, did you know that

you are the cute dog i am looking at as i am driving that nearly causes me to have a car accidentyou are the itunes playlist entitled "aaaaa" so that you will appear at the top of the listyou are a high speed internet connectionyou are einstein's theory of relativityyou have my jumper on and i want it back

you are my desktop backgroundyou are a picture with many birds in ityou are the most popular twitter app according to the blogosphereyou are a gentleman and a scholaryou are my 30 day 'freecell for mac' trialyou are my humble collection of bookmarksyou have a weird mole right there

you are every single galaxy except for this oneyou have nebulae behind your lungs

Sunday, May 8, 2011

As you are boarding, stand directly in front of the train/tram doors as people are waiting to get off. Ignore signs that say you should allow people to exit before you get on. Get huffy when people trying to exit get in your way. Fail to acknowledge the logic that people leaving the train will make room for you if they get off first. Be anxious about getting a seat, forget all this, and race on.

Find a seat of two and sit in the aisle seat. Put your bag on the empty seat next to you, even if it's peak hour. Personal space is too important for courtesy. Or if you can, sit in an aisle seat of four. Put your legs out and look directly at the people sitting across from you. Glare. Question why they are intruding upon your comfortable moving paradise.

During peak hour, crowd around the doors instead of moving down the aisle. No need to disperse amongst the rest of the space where there are more things to hold onto. No need.

Conversely, if there is only one person in the carriage, seek them out and sit next to them. Nobody wants to be alone. If possible, make sure you can face them. For extra effect, if you are a guy, open your legs really wide and be uncomfortably 'there'.

Be a crazy person. Yell at fellow commuters about their appearance. Be really drunk and maybe smelly and hover really closely to people. Ask them for money. Bring an impending sense of guilt throughout the carriage as you whimper "excuse me" to people minding their own business. Maybe have a cigarette on you for full effect.

Listen to your ipod really loudly. Invite everybody into your little techno world of joy. When the tinny beats from your headphones aren't enough, play music off your phone. There's a reason T-Pain rhymes with train. And why else do phones have speakers if not to share the joy of your music taste with everybody else on public transport?

Don't help old people on or off the train/tram. Shouldn't they be taking the bus? What are they doing in the city? Shouldn't they have a license to take public transport? Pretend to be far away, immersed in your music or your book, when a doddery old man gets on the train, so you don't have to give your seat to him, even though you're sitting in one of the seats with the sign marked 'give to people with special needs'.

Take a phone call. Talk really loudly to the person on the other end. Probably have your phone on loudspeaker because the train/tram is noisy. Your life is interesting enough to have both sides of a conversation broadcast loudly throughout it.

The final way to be annoying on public transport is to openly support a football team by attending their games on the weekend. Crowd onto the train talking loudly about how 'we' did in loud, outer-suburban accents, block-coloured breast to block-coloured breast. Permeate the train with uncompromising consistency, an unfortunate surprise to those who take the train for non-athletic reasons on weekends.

Monday, May 2, 2011

A few months ago I moved into (what can only be described as) a shack with my friend Hannah. We live in Wood Bay/Titirangi, and it is a very secluded and beautiful area. It is the kind of area where everyone says hello to you and smiles as they walk past you with their big ass labradoodle. Just real good vibes. By some sort of dumb luck, I got a job which was only 20 minutes walk from where I currently live, which is saying something considering not much is 20 minutes walk from where I live. The beach is about 3 minutes walk from our house. I feel like living by the water is a nice thing, and it makes me feel calm. Whenever I am feeling sad, or something else, I can always go down there and stare into the ocean and feel a certain way. I never really feel alone out here.

The house itself is very old and small. The taps leak. There is no insulation. There is mould and weird smells. Despite all of this, I love living here completely. For me it is the embodiment of free n' easy living. I like doing things around the house, it makes me feel industrious. Actually did some handy man type stuff the other day. Felt real good. Used a hammer and everything. Outside we have a fire pit and my flat mate planted a cool as vegetable garden. We have this bush area up the back which isn't ours but our landlord says we can do whatever we want with it. Our landlord is like 100 years old. Rent is real cheap, like $90/week. Our neighbours are real cool, kind of like a modern hippie family, the kind that work square jobs but still have hippie ideals. Feel like in my little room I am impenetrable. Good buzz all round. I also have the best flat mate. We often sit in the living room watching the news and I'll be writing and she'll be knitting. She will make some comment about how fucked National is and I will giggle and ask her if The Simpsons is on yet. We don't annoy each other. We do each other's dishes without feeling an underlying resentment for the other person.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

We feel like there is a lot of good writing going on online. Throughour blogging exploits we have started reading a lot of exciting stufffrom all around the world and we have lately been wondering where thelocals are at. We rarely get to see this poetry outside of theinternet, if we get to see it at all. The best things about the poetrythat has flourished online (thanks to the people mentioned in thatEnormous Boon post) are that it is honest, accessible, funny, unsure,changeable, sad, sexy, easy, lame, says everything, says nothing, saysexactly what you want to say but can't work out how to, seems bleak,feels right, feels wrong, feels a bit rough, just makes you feel. Wetry to write in this style too.

We want to encourage poets who may not even be ready to callthemselves poets yet. If you are putting words on a page because youfeel like you can't possibly NOT put words on a page, we want to hearfrom you.

Basically, it will be People Are Just People on a larger scale: wewant to hear from Australian and New Zealand poets and writers. We areexcited about what we are reading online and we want to publish you!

Our publication will be called 'Hands Like Mirrors'. We hope to get funding to publish a hard copy version of it and are aiming to publish it by July.

These are the submission guidelines.

- You must be a resident of either Australia or New Zealand to submit.- Poetry submissions send up to 3 poems, with a maximum of 100 lines for each.- Flash fiction, send either 1 or 2 stories, max 500 words per story(can send poetry as well, but be kind).- Max 5 submissions per person please, we are only two people.- Attach submissions in a word doc with 'Hands Like Mirrors' and yourname in the title.- In the document include a bio no more than 50 words.- We will try to respond to you within two weeks, but life does get inthe way, so be please be patient with us.

Email us at hlmpoetry@gmail.com

Deadline for submissions is SUNDAY 1ST MAY 2011

(SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED)

If you have any questions, leave a comment or email one/both of us andwe'll get back to you as soon as possible. Also! If you know anyonewhose writing sounds like something we would like, leave a commentwith a link or an example or just email us.